Any special information about player: Signed with the Redlegs as a Free Agent before the 1958 season. Bats: both. Throws: left.

Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 9. This is his sixth Topps card.

Blurb on the back: "A swift-footed infielder, Chico led the California League with 61 stolen bases in 1959, the Sally League with 55 thefts in 1960 and the American Association with 44 swipes in 1961! In 1966, Chico was the Reds' top pinch-hitter with a fantastic .371 batting average!"

Commentary: The burlap sack set. The now iconic 1968 Topps set featured a unique pattern that has not been repeated since. You have to admit that this was an interesting design choice. The back of Ruiz' Topps card includes a cartoon trivia question asking, "Which Red pitcher set the club mark for winning 20 games?" The answer: Paul Derringer - 4 times. Depending on how you spell his name, Giraldo (or Hiraldo) Sablon Ruiz tore up the bases in the minor leagues in during the 1960's. So much so that the Reds decided to bring him to the majors in 1964. For fans of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chico Ruiz' name is as infamous as Bucky Dent's to those in Red Sox Nation. It is said that his steal of home on a fateful September 21 game, the only run scored that day, was the beginning of the end of the Phillies chances of winning the NL pennant. Primarily used as a pinch hitter, he appeared in 105 games, a career high, in 1967 thanks in large part to an injury to teammate Leo Cardenas. On days he would start, he comfortably covered 2nd and short for the Reds. In 1968, Ruiz appeared in 85 games, again as a pinch hitter/pinch runner, although he did start at second for a majority of the Reds' games in September. He hit .259 with 13 runs batted in, 2 doubles, 1 triple, stole 9 bases, and had an OPS of .558. He was traded to the California Angels at the end of the 1969 season. Tragically, Chico Ruiz' life was cut short on February 9, 1972, when he drove his car into a sign pole outside of San Diego. He was only 33 years old.

Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.75-$2.00.

How many cards of this player do I own?: 0.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM..

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2004 Topps #54. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

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The Topps 300 (and then some...)

Inspired by Topps attempt to whittle down the Top 60 cards of All-Time, I thought that the Hobby Blogging Community can do better. And now that they have been announcing, card by card, the results of their voting, now is the time to ensure that your favorite cards from every year is on the ballot.

The best five cards from each year (my opinion, from 1951-2010) is included in each post (see the slideshow on the sidebar). I am inviting readers to add comments to each post telling me what cards should have been included. What will happen eventually is that every card will be put to a vote to determine the best card from every year, and then the best cards of All-Time.

So please take the time to visit the site and let me know what you think.

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For the record (like this even needs to be pointed out...), bdj610 does not work for, and is not affiliated in any way with, the Topps Company Incorporated, or any of their corporate partners, associates, or vendors. All views and opinions expressed on this blog are strictly those of the writer alone and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of any employee of the Topps Company, the Tornante Group, or Madison Dearborn Partners.

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